Australia - Pacific Crossing Notes: A Sailor's Guide to the Coconut Milk Run - page 457

Regulations and Import Duties
Importing a boat into Australia can be surprisingly easy. It seems that many of the wild ru-
mors surrounding importation are patently false. For example, fumigation is rarely re-
quired. In fifteen years of assisting boat owners to import, Anita Farine reports only one re-
quired fumigation - and that was a seventy-five year old wooden hull. There is no required
certification for rigging, nor proof of recent antifouling for boats under twenty meters - just
make sure your hull isn't sprouting a dense beard of mussels when you arrive. In the worst
case, you'll be required to haul out and clean the bottom. It will be necessary to certify re-
frigeration and gas systems, but these can be arranged for locally with little difficulty (ap-
proximately AUD$200 each).
Unfortunately, there's no way around the 10% import tax. Most boats also pay an addition-
al 5% duty, though this is waived for US-flagged vessels thanks to the Free Trade agree-
ment. These duties will take a significant chunk out of your take-home cash. I suspect that
the stories of people selling a boat in Australia for a higher price than they bought it in
North America does not figure in import duties. Some sailors try to bypass this by selling
duty-free in New Caledonia, though the market there is limited (see Post Script: Other Pa-
cific Marketplaces below).
A critical point for importation is the official valuation of your vessel. The lower the value
of your boat, the lower the import duty you must pay. Therefore, make sure you hold off on
touching up that scratch in the varnish or that nick in the gelcoat until after the valuation
has been made. It doesn't make sense to make major boat improvements in New Zealand or
New Caledonia to improve the salability of the boat in Australia since that will drive up the
import value of your boat. Valuation is done by a surveyor or certified broker and is gener-
ally 50% less than the sales price of the boat. It is not possible to have valuation based on a
bill of sale older than twelve months (not to mention that this is generally unfavorable, giv-
en that a bill of sale is likely to show a higher value than a local valuation will show).
Anita Farine recommends keeping receipts from as early as Panama for anything that could
be construed as a boat improvement. For example, we were able to deduct the new rigging
we had installed in Tahiti from the import value of our boat in Australia. Keep all major re-
ceipts - equipment, charts, antifouling, even marina fees. You never know what might be
accepted as a deduction. Above all, talk to a broker well before your arrival in Australia for
his or her advice on all importation requirements, including how and when to declare your
intent to sell.